This means that many young people live in constant state of stress over money — especially in the current job market, in which the unemployment rate for 18- to 29-year olds is 11.8 percent.

Financial professionals blame a lack of knowledge about money for causing problems for millions of young Americans, many of whom begin their adult lives struggling with debt.

“Most parents don’t teach children about money. Often young adults end up learning about finances when they are overwhelmed by debt,” says Howard Dvorkin, a certified public accountant who is also founder of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services.

According to the PNC study, “On average, total debt [of those between 20 and 29 years old] is $45,000, ranging from $12,000 for ages 20-21 to $78,000 for 28-29 year olds holding debt,” PNC said.The problem of youth debt begins early.

A national test of financial knowledge by the US Treasury in 2010 produced discouraging results: High-school students overall scored only 70 percent.

That demonstrated “that students are not yet making the grade when it comes to understanding how to manage money,” according to a Treasury press release.

The end result of this ignorance is a cold reality for these twentysomethings.

“Sixty percent of the generation who grew up amid economic growth and graduated into a hard-hitting recession,” the PNC survey said, “say they feel stressed about their outstanding debt.”

In the economic boom of the 1980s and 1990s, says a financial author who has studied how young people learn about money, many people grew up taking wealth for granted. The nation, says financial author Paul Nourigat, developed “unsustainable consumer behaviors and a broad sense of entitlement.”

How does the next generation avoid doing as badly with red ink as this one is doing?

Dvorkin and other experts insist that it’s vital to start educating a child as soon as possible on the dangers of debt, or he or she will begin adult life heavily in debt and may have to spend decades to escape it.

“We should have mandatory financial-education courses in high school,” Dvorkin says.

“You must pass tests before you can drive. You should also have to pass tests to prove your financial literacy,” according to Dvorkin.